Description

1946 (May 8) Unusual & rare use to female relative Masako Kagawa, Yamanashi Gun, Hiroshima Prefecture of Special Military Air Mail postcard issued by Army Relief Department written by Army Sanitary Private Sigezo Kagawa, No. 27 Place of Concentration, Nongkhae village, Saraburi, Siam. Printed Gunji Yubin (Military Mail) & endorsed MAIL OF DISARMED MILITARY PERSONEL, 105 Logistics Hospital / Recruited at / Hiroshima with Airmail deleted & censored by Kawano & again by the US occupying forces in Japan with Shield C.C.D. J – 195 hand stamp . Part of the message say’s he fine and serving at the Hospital here, Clothes, food & accomodation are OK …….

105 Logistics Hospital was under the Command of the Japanese 15th army serving in Burma. After the devastating Japanese defeats at Kohima and Imphal 8 March – 18 July 1944 where they lost almost 55,00 troops the remnants retreated to Thailand in order to re-organise but the writing was already on the wall to the final total Japanese defeat… Despite there being tens of thousands Japanese troops taken POW’s in Thailand all had been repatriated by the end of June 1946 yet little surviving mail exists & is very rare due to Japanese culture & the stigma attached to being taken prisoner so most families destroyed it.